Dickerson: Is Gov. Rick Snyder in crosshairs of Flint investigation?

In an interview with the Free Press, Attorney General Bill Schuette was asked about his team’s investigation into Gov. Rick Snyder regarding the Flint water crisis. Here’s what he had to say.
Junfu Han, Detroit Free Press

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Gov. Rick Snyder speaks during Flint Water Task Force final report press conference in March 2016, at the Mott Community College in Flint, MI.(Photo: Salwan Georges, Detroit Free Press)Buy Photo

Two weeks ago, the notion that Attorney General Bill Schuette might bring felony charges against Gov. Rick Snyder was so outlandish that I could joke about it in a column without worrying that anyone would take me seriously.

Today, Snyder’s jeopardy is palpable — a liability that imperils his legacy as well as his agenda. What was once unthinkable seems more and more like the next shoe waiting to drop.

Schuette says he knew Snyder’s potential exposure would become “the elephant in the room” once he charged Lyon, and he has taken pains to say that investigators have yet to surface probable cause that Snyder committed any crime.

But he emphasizes that his investigation is continuing, and complains that his prosecutors have not yet succeeded in their efforts to interview the governor about his role in the Flint catastrophe.

Snyder’s lawyer says his client set aside time for an interview after receiving assurances that the AG’s office would serve the governor with an investigative subpoena.
But the promised subpoena never materialized — and neither side will say why.

Witness — or target?

Only a judge can authorize an investigative subpoena. But the bar is not very high for prosecutors seeking the court’s permission to issue such a summons: They need only convince the judge that 1) a crime has likely taken place, and 2) the witness whose testimony they seek probably knows something about it.

One surefire way to avoid an investigative subpoena is to become a suspect yourself. Prosecutors may not compel the testimony of someone they have identified as a target of their investigation, and judges typically decline to authorize an investigative subpoena for any witness who seems likely to become one.

Could that explain the missing subpoena?

Schuette doesn't contest Snyder’s account that no subpoena was ever served on the governor. But the AG says Michigan law precludes him from disclosing whether his investigators sought or obtained one.

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Attorney General Bill Schuette takes questions after announcing new charges against two high-ranking state health officials in the fourth round of criminal charges in the Flint drinking water crisis on Wed., June 14, 2017 during a press conference at Riverfront Banquet Center in downtown Flint. (Photo: Ryan Garza, Detroit Free Press)

Rusty Hills, Schuettte's spokesman, says state law also forbids the AG to say whether Snyder has become a target of his investigation.

“The governor has more leeway to discuss that," Hills suggests.

But Snyder’s spokesman, Ari Adler, disagrees, insisting that the governor, too, is prohibited from saying “if they (Schuette’s prosecutors) are targeting someone or if they have sought a subpoena.”

A cold war ignites

Snyder and Schuette have never quite been on the same page politically. Though both are Republican, they answer to distinct constituencies whose interests diverge as often as they overlap. And although neither man is noted for his jocular spontaneity, Schuette seems to thrive on the kind of parade and picnic politicking Snyder merely endures.

Now their polite rivalry has become a high-stakes, zero-sum battle for political survival.

Schuette’s political ambitions seem boundless, extending to next year’s gubernatorial race and beyond. Snyder, whose relentless positivity never gets the better of his realism, knows the Flint fiasco has likely limited his viability for higher office. But he wants to spend what remains of his second term burnishing his record, not prepping for a criminal trial.

Snyder is already playing defense, and poorly. Even if you believe that Lyon and his fellow defendants are innocent, Snyder’s refusal to suspend them suggests his first loyalty is to his appointees, not the constituents they serve. If you assume the five charged last week are guilty, then Snyder’s defiance looks less like loyalty and more like self-interest.

Every day reporters spend talking about the Flint investigation is a day they don't spend talking about Schuette's steadfast support for a Republican president whose approval rating is in the toilet. But Schuette’s momentary advantage may be fragile.

Establishing that Lyon and his codefendants are culpable for the death of an 85-year-old man in declining health may prove an impossible burden for prosecutors. If the charges against Snyder’s subordinates fail to bear fruit in plea deals or credible evidence of the governor’s criminal complicity, Schuette’s political future could be as tainted as Flint’s drinking water.

I got out of the forecasting business last Election Night, but it’s hard to see how Schuette and Snyder both emerge from the crucible of Flint with their honor intact. Something’s gotta give, and the resolution promises to be neither friendly nor funny.